Adapted from Koontz's novel "Mr Murder" this is a tale of Santa's twin brother Bob Claus and his efforts to spoil the Christmas of two sisters. The girls, Charlotte and Emily, conspire to thwart Bob's evil plan and in the process Bob learns a valuable lesson. A cross between "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" and "The Nightmare Before Christmas", this story works best 3rd-4th graders.It takes 40 minutes to read aloud, so plan accordingly. Incidentally, the illustrations by Phil Parks are outstanding. Kids can have fun finding hidden snowmen as well as the name "Parks" in each picture.

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Four of us read this one today. Let me share some parts that had us chuckling:

Santa's twin is evil, has locked the merry man away and stolen his sleigh to create havoc:

"They land on the roof, quiet and sneaky,
Oh, but this Santa is fearfully freaky;
He Whispers a warning to each reindeer,
leaning close to make sure they hear:
'You Have relatives back at the Pole -
antlered, gentle, quite innocent souls.

'So if you fly off while I'm inside,
back to the Pole on a plane I will ride,
I'll have a picnic in the midnight sun:
reindeer pie, pate, reindeer in a bun,
reindeer salad, and hot reindeer soup,
oh, all sorts of tasty reindeer goop.'"

Or:

"'Where's Mrs. Claus?' Emmy asks with awe,
'Bernice?' says a deer. 'She's at a spa
in California, Somewhere on the coast,
bathing in the sun, brown as toast.'"

Take a few minute to enjoy this one. A funny, funny read and an unsual way to begin the season.

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I'd never heard of this book, but as a big fan of Dean Koontz I wanted to check it out. Me, my husband, and grown daughter ended up spending way too much time searching for the hidden pictures throughout this book. I wish I would have had this one when my kids were younger. It's not scary at all. Fun, with a nice message and story, too. Beautiful illustrations!

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